Okuzeka
Aviation vocabulary · Navigation & Instruments

Flight level

Meaning in aviation, with examples

nounCore term

In aviation, flight level means: A cruising level used above the transition altitude, measured with the standard pressure setting of 1013 hPa and given in hundreds of feet: FL350 is about 35,000 feet.

In Turkish: uçuş seviyesi

How it is used

Written FL350 and said 'flight level three five zero'. Pilots set the standard pressure (STD) when they climb through the transition altitude, so that all aircraft measure their levels in the same way.

Example sentences

  1. Fastair 345, climb to flight level 350.

  2. We asked for a lower flight level to get out of the turbulence.

Common collocations

  • cruising flight level
  • request a higher flight level
  • maintain flight level
  • transition level
  • altitudeThe vertical distance of an aircraft above mean sea level, usually given in feet. Height, by contrast, is measured from the ground or the airport.
  • QNHThe pressure setting that makes an altimeter show altitude above mean sea level. With QNH set, an altimeter on the ground shows the airport's elevation.
  • climbTo gain height. In aviation the word also names the phase of flight between takeoff and cruise, when the aircraft goes up to its cruising level.
  • cruiseThe longest and usually level part of a flight, flown at a steady altitude and speed between the climb and the descent.

More terms: Navigation & Instruments

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level: